KKR-LSG to clash for top four position

KKR had a fantastic outing at Eden Gardens in their last match with the much talked-about middle-order coming good. Ajinkya Rahane has led from the front. He has looked to be in good nick but has not been able to convert the starts into big scores. He would want to do that in this game. In the middle-order Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi showed their prowess with the bat. Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana have hit a purple patch, while Varun Chakravarthy has been economical and effective.

But the opening slot remains a worry. Both Sunil Narine and Quinton de Kock have failed repeatedly. While Narine has looked to be in a tearing hurry every match, QDK looks to have lost his game vision. Either, the think tank will ask them to be a little patient and work on their shot selection, or will have to try out a different combination. Both of them can be destructive on their day, and KKR management will hope the match against LSG will be the day. The entire batting line-up will be needed in this match without a doubt. 

Another concern is Andre Russell. He has not looked completely fit. Though he got two wickets last match, it was largely because of poor shot selection rather than good deliveries. His run-up has been wobbly and his batting shaky, to say the least.

In the pre-match press meet, KKR Assistant Coach Otis Gibson, played down the form part and said it was early in the season and sooner than later both Sunil will find form with bat. Asked about the pitch, he said, “I hope it will play like the last game. But this being a day match the character of the pitch won't change much during the course of 40 overs.” He also praised the work ethics of Vaibhav and Harshit and how hard they worked with DJ Bravo, and allayed fears of an LSG batting act stating that they had the weapons to get early breakthroughs. 

But they will be facing one of the most vaunted batting line-ups in IPL. Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant, Ayush Badoni, and David Miller all look to be in fine touch. They have been aided by some fine captaincy by Pant himself. The return of Bengal’s Akash Deep has been a boost for the team. Shardul Thakur and Avesh Khan have been consistent. Another Bengal player Shahbaz Ahamad could come into the playing XI or be an impact sub. Both Akash and Shahbaz know Eden Gardens like the back of their hand making it a huge plus for the Lucknow franchise.

On the points table KKR sits 5th and LSG 6th with net run rates of +0.070 and +0.048 respectively and each on 4 points. There is nothing much to differentiate between the two sides. Player for player, talent for talent both KKR and LSG look to be absolutely stacked. While KKR will surely have the home support, a large part of the Eden Gallery that looked rather vacant with people sprouting like cactus will be a worry for the home franchise. LSG also has a base in the city. The franchise owners also own Mohun Bagan club and they will surely get the support of the mariners during the match.

Shahbaz Ahamad looked to making the playing XI in some form or the other as he did the pre-match press con, during which he said, “It's going to be a slow pitch. The ball would stop and aid the spinners. We are in good nick and everyone in the team is motivated to perform.”

Though the pitch controversy seems to have died down, from what has been noticed during practice, KKR Coach Chandrakanth Pandit has made tours of the pitch repeatedly and has held brief discussions with curator Sujan Mukherjee. In any case being a day match, teams winning the toss would like to bat first under sunlight.

The match becomes even more crucial as a win will catapult that team to the top four in the points table.